Chapter 19

Question 1

What are the differences between the positive organizational behaviour school (POB) of thought and the positive organizational scholarship (POS) school of thought?

Answer 1

POS primary focus is on positive features of the organization, POB is primarily concerned with specific qualities of the individual employee.

POS starts at organizational level and POB starts and the individual level and progresses to group and organizational levels.

Question 2

What is the success paradigm?

Answer 2

This states that people are positive as a result of being productive at work. A meta-analysis shows that positive affect leads to success in numerous life domains, including work.

Question 3

Why do humans overemphasize and amplify the negative over the positive?

Answer 3

• Intensity -> negative stimuli tend to be experienced more intensely
• Novelty -> people experience more positive than negative events, as a result negative events stand out more
• Adaption -> negative events signal maladaption and a need for change and corrective action
• Singularity -> one negative or dysfunctional component can cause failure, thus these receive a higher priority

Question 4

What are according to the broaden-and-build model the two effects of positive emotions?

Answer 4

• broadening effect: positivity enables and motivates the search for a wider range of alternatives and the curiosity to explore unusual courses of action
• building effect: positive emotions can facilitate the development and replenishment of mental, physical, social and psychological resources

Question 5

What is the definition of self-efficacy?

Answer 5

One’s belief about his/her ability to mobilize the motivation, cognitive resources, and courses of action necessary to execute a specific action within a given context

Question 6

How can you develop self-efficacy? (4 methods)

Answer 6

1. Mastery/success experiences: mastery experiences are created through repeated opportunities to experience success
2. Vicarious learning/modelling: employees can learn through observing and imitating others
3. Social persuasion: developing self-efficacy through the influence and support of others
4. Physiological and psychological arousal: a general emphasis on physical, mental and psychological well-being can also contribute to self-efficacy

Question 7

Definition of hope

Answer 7

A positive motivational state that is based on an interactively derived sense of successful agency and pathways

Question 8

What is agency (willpower)?

Answer 8

Wilful determination to get what we want, as well as the energy investment to pursue realistic but challenging goals

Question 9

What are pathways (waypower)?

Answer 9

The ability to create multiple paths that can lead to goal achievement

Question 10

How can we develop hope? (3 approaches)

Answer 10

1. Goal setting; specific, measurable, internalized goals -> stretch goals and stepping
2. Contingency planning; creating realistic, viable contingency plans even before problems and crises arise
3. Mental rehearsals; mentally rehearsing various potential scenarios

Question 11

What are two approaches to conceptualize optimism?

Answer 11

1. General positive future expectancies -> glass is half full
2. An explanatory style that attributes positive events to personal, permanent and pervasive causes

Question 12

How can we develop flexible/realistic optimism?

Answer 12

• Leniency for the past: positive interventions can help employees become more optimistic by teaching them to positively re-frame setbacks (moving on from failures)
• Appreciation for the present: finding the positive and attributing it to internal, permanent and pervasive causes
• Opportunity seeking for the future: through a more positive mindset, future opportunities and challenges are more likely to be embraced and welcomed

Question 13

Definition of resilience

Answer 13

The capacity to rebound or bounce back from adversity, conflict, failure, or even positive events, progress, and increased responsibility

Question 14

How can we develop resilience?

Answer 14

• Asset-focused strategies: focus on enhancing the assets and resources that can increase the probability of success.
• Risk-focused strategies: the purpose is to mitigate risk factors that can lead to undesired outcomes
• Process-focused strategies: the goal is to develop effective adaptational mechanisms that can facilitate the identification, development, utilization and maintenance of the proper mix of assets in managing pertinent risk factors

Question 15

What is psychological capital?

Answer 15

A core construct that integrates sell-efficacy, hope, optimism, and resilience

Question 16

What are the 5 positive workplace interventions?

Answer 16

1. Developing self-efficacy
2. Developing hope
3. Developing optimism
4. Developing resilience
5. Developing gratitude

Question 17

How can we develop gratitude?

Answer 17

• Regularly identifying and appraising positive life situations
• The gratitude letter and visit: write and deliver a letter in which you express your gratitude to another person
• Identifying and using one’s strengths

Question 18

What is needed for positive interventions to work out?

Answer 18

Positive organizational context in which positivity can be nurtured, sustained and multiplied.

Question 19

What is authentic leadership development?

Answer 19

The process that draws upon a leader’s life course, psychological capital, moral perspective, and a highly developed supporting organizational climate to produce greater self-awareness and self-regulated positive behaviours, which in turn foster continuous, positive self-development resulting in veritable sustained performance.

Question 20

Definition of Appreciative inquiry (AI)

Answer 20

The cooperative search for the best in people, their organizations, and the world around them

Question 21

How does an Appreciative inquiry intervention look like?

Answer 21

An organization conducts a series of four one-day meetings

1. Discovery phase: expressing and appreciating the organization’s strengths and best practices
2. Dream phase: establishes a vision and higher purpose for the organization
3. Design phase: builds an action plan to prioritize and replicate the organization’s strengths and best practices
4. Destiny phase: creates the implementation blueprint of the actin plan

Question 22

How can we promote positive work behaviours?

Answer 22

Research shows that when rewards are administered to employees behaving in productive ways, the desired behaviours are reinforced -> money, feedback and recognition seem to be powerful reinforcers

Question 23

Selecting for talent is an example of successful selection-based intervention. How does this work?

Answer 23

Selection and placement based on talent followed by development that is consistent with those talents, can yield strengths.